In the process of categorizing new targets identified by web filters, the Applicants observed that some targets were not resolvable to actual hosts or to actual IP addresses, ie. the targets were bogus or invalid. In the process of categorizing new targets identified by web filters, the Applicants observed a frequency or volume of requests concentrated to yet uncategorized targets that far exceeded normal human rates of Internet traffic from a singular source. In the process of categorizing new targets identified by web filters, the Applicants observed that the traffic patterns alone suggested that the source of the traffic was infected with a robot or conducting malicious behavior.
Close observation of Internet traffic has revealed concentrated spikes of electronic packets transmission to and requests from obscure and mysterious targets. What is needed is a way to systematically collect, analyze, and inform users of hazards and potential infection based on traffic emanating from a client.